This large-format photo-emulsion etching by American printmaker John Wade captures the quiet elegance of a misty highland morning, rendered with extraordinary tonal subtlety and atmospheric depth. Signed and numbered 5/50, Highlands Morning exemplifies Wade’s signature hybrid technique—uniting photographic detail with the expressive hand of a master etcher—to produce a richly textured and luminously detailed work of contemporary American printmaking.
Highlands Morning is a serene and masterfully executed etching that depicts waterfowl gliding across a still highland pond at dawn, punctuated by a single bird in the foreground stretching its wings in the tall grasses. Wade’s atmospheric sensibility is immediately evident: the water’s surface dissolves into soft light, the birds glow with subtle highlights, and the surrounding reeds and shoreline emerge from delicate tonal gradation.
Wade’s process—referred to as emulsion etching—involves coating a metal plate with a photo-sensitive emulsion, exposing it to light through a photographic transparency, and then chemically etching the surface with acid. The method captures the minute textures and tonal transitions of a photograph while still allowing the artist to draw directly onto the plate, manipulate textures, and apply selective inking.
The result is a hybrid artwork—part photograph, part engraving—capable of remarkable nuance in light, depth, and surface detail.
In Highlands Morning, this hybrid process is used to exceptional effect:
The photographic emulsion contributes the misty gradations in the sky and water.
The etched linework sharpens the reeds, wing feathers, and reflections.
Selective wiping enhances the contrast between bright waterfowl and shadowed marsh.
The print is hand-titled Highlands Morning, numbered 5/50, and signed “John Wade.” Its scale (16×30 in) gives it an immersive presence and showcases Wade’s ability to blend realism with lyrical atmosphere.
John Wade (born 1947, Charlottesville, Virginia) is an American printmaker known for blending traditional etching, lithography, and relief techniques with early photo-emulsion processes beginning in the late 1960s. His work occupies an important niche in the movement toward experimental printmaking workshops that emerged in the post-war era in the United States.
Wade studied at Elon College (BA) and later earned an Associate of Applied Arts degree from the Technical College of Alamance, focusing on advanced printmaking, drafting, and technical illustration. Between 1967 and 1971, he served in the U.S. Army as a military illustrator, where he refined his precision in linework, perspective, and tonal rendering—skills that would later underpin his etching style.
In 1977, Wade established his own printmaking studio in North Carolina, designing it as an experimental workshopwhere he developed hybrid processes:
• photo-emulsion applied to copper plates
• multi-plate tonal etching
• hand-drawn aquatint overlays
• early light-sensitive resist techniques influenced by commercial photomechanical processes
Wade’s influences include mid-century American regionalist printmakers, technical illustration, early photographic etching pioneers, and the dramatic tonal structures of 19th-century European etchers. He became known for creating imagery that is both realistic and otherworldly, often depicting barns, rural roads, storms, and nocturnal scenes with heightened contrast and emotional intensity.
His work has received awards in regional art competitions throughout the Southeastern United States, and his prints are represented in numerous private collections in the U.S., Europe, and Canada, as well as select university collections with contemporary printmaking programs.
By the 1980s–1990s, Wade’s workshop became a training site for younger printmakers interested in combining analog photographic processes with traditional intaglio—placing him among the early adopters of hybrid photographic/non-silver techniques in studio printmaking.
John Wade, Highlands Morning. Large photo-emulsion etching, 16×30 in. Signed and numbered 5/50. Exceptional tonal subtlety and detail.
CERTIFICATE OF VALUE & AUTHENTICATION
Artist: John Wade (b.1947)
Title:Highlands Morning
Date: 1970s–1980s (period consistent with Wade’s emulsion etching work)
Medium: Photo-Emulsion Etching (Hybrid Photographic/Intaglio Process)
Dimensions: 16 × 30 inches
Edition: 5/50
Signature: Hand-titled, signed, and numbered
Authenticity: Verified through plate characteristics, emulsion structure, signature, and known technical practices of Wade’s North Carolina studio.
Current Owner: Artfind Gallery, Washington, DC
This print is certified as an authentic original work by John Wade.
Artist’s Studio, North Carolina
Private Collection, East Coast USA
Artfind Gallery, Washington, DC — current owner
This large-format photo-emulsion etching by American printmaker John Wade captures the quiet elegance of a misty highland morning, rendered with extraordinary tonal subtlety and atmospheric depth. Signed and numbered 5/50, Highlands Morning exemplifies Wade’s signature hybrid technique—uniting photographic detail with the expressive hand of a master etcher—to produce a richly textured and luminously detailed work of contemporary American printmaking.
Highlands Morning is a serene and masterfully executed etching that depicts waterfowl gliding across a still highland pond at dawn, punctuated by a single bird in the foreground stretching its wings in the tall grasses. Wade’s atmospheric sensibility is immediately evident: the water’s surface dissolves into soft light, the birds glow with subtle highlights, and the surrounding reeds and shoreline emerge from delicate tonal gradation.
Wade’s process—referred to as emulsion etching—involves coating a metal plate with a photo-sensitive emulsion, exposing it to light through a photographic transparency, and then chemically etching the surface with acid. The method captures the minute textures and tonal transitions of a photograph while still allowing the artist to draw directly onto the plate, manipulate textures, and apply selective inking.
The result is a hybrid artwork—part photograph, part engraving—capable of remarkable nuance in light, depth, and surface detail.
In Highlands Morning, this hybrid process is used to exceptional effect:
The photographic emulsion contributes the misty gradations in the sky and water.
The etched linework sharpens the reeds, wing feathers, and reflections.
Selective wiping enhances the contrast between bright waterfowl and shadowed marsh.
The print is hand-titled Highlands Morning, numbered 5/50, and signed “John Wade.” Its scale (16×30 in) gives it an immersive presence and showcases Wade’s ability to blend realism with lyrical atmosphere.
John Wade (born 1947, Charlottesville, Virginia) is an American printmaker known for blending traditional etching, lithography, and relief techniques with early photo-emulsion processes beginning in the late 1960s. His work occupies an important niche in the movement toward experimental printmaking workshops that emerged in the post-war era in the United States.
Wade studied at Elon College (BA) and later earned an Associate of Applied Arts degree from the Technical College of Alamance, focusing on advanced printmaking, drafting, and technical illustration. Between 1967 and 1971, he served in the U.S. Army as a military illustrator, where he refined his precision in linework, perspective, and tonal rendering—skills that would later underpin his etching style.
In 1977, Wade established his own printmaking studio in North Carolina, designing it as an experimental workshopwhere he developed hybrid processes:
• photo-emulsion applied to copper plates
• multi-plate tonal etching
• hand-drawn aquatint overlays
• early light-sensitive resist techniques influenced by commercial photomechanical processes
Wade’s influences include mid-century American regionalist printmakers, technical illustration, early photographic etching pioneers, and the dramatic tonal structures of 19th-century European etchers. He became known for creating imagery that is both realistic and otherworldly, often depicting barns, rural roads, storms, and nocturnal scenes with heightened contrast and emotional intensity.
His work has received awards in regional art competitions throughout the Southeastern United States, and his prints are represented in numerous private collections in the U.S., Europe, and Canada, as well as select university collections with contemporary printmaking programs.
By the 1980s–1990s, Wade’s workshop became a training site for younger printmakers interested in combining analog photographic processes with traditional intaglio—placing him among the early adopters of hybrid photographic/non-silver techniques in studio printmaking.
John Wade, Highlands Morning. Large photo-emulsion etching, 16×30 in. Signed and numbered 5/50. Exceptional tonal subtlety and detail.
CERTIFICATE OF VALUE & AUTHENTICATION
Artist: John Wade (b.1947)
Title:Highlands Morning
Date: 1970s–1980s (period consistent with Wade’s emulsion etching work)
Medium: Photo-Emulsion Etching (Hybrid Photographic/Intaglio Process)
Dimensions: 16 × 30 inches
Edition: 5/50
Signature: Hand-titled, signed, and numbered
Authenticity: Verified through plate characteristics, emulsion structure, signature, and known technical practices of Wade’s North Carolina studio.
Current Owner: Artfind Gallery, Washington, DC
This print is certified as an authentic original work by John Wade.
Artist’s Studio, North Carolina
Private Collection, East Coast USA
Artfind Gallery, Washington, DC — current owner
